In recent months, superheroes films as a whole have received a couple shots in the media. Many continued to speculate how long the superhero bubble will continue to inflate before it eventually pops. Last month, iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg talked about the genre and speculated that superhero movies would die out just like the Western genre.

Recently, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige was asked what he thought of Spielberg’s comments and if he himself believes superhero films have an expiration date.

“People have been asking me that for 15 years. In 2001, 2002, 2003 there were two Marvel movies, three Marvel movies, and I still believe the same thing, which is as long as the ones that we can control are as good as they can be, that’s all that I care about. I think we’ve been doing pretty well. I’m very confident in the films we’ve announced that we have coming forward that they’re going to be surprising and different and unique. I’ve said a lot: I don’t believe in the comic book genre. I don’t believe in the superhero genre. I believe that each of our films can be very different.”

When compared to Westerns, Feige stated that Western genre had a 40 to 50 year run at the height of its popularity before they eventually died out, and even after the fact, Westerns would still pop up periodically.

“It’s been, what, eight years since Iron Man if we count that, which I do, as the beginning of our MCU? Maybe [the superhero genre] will only last another 42 years.”

Recently in reponse to Steven Spielberg, Zack Snyder said Batman and Superman trancend the superhero genre and called Marvel’sAnt-Man the flavor of the month. When asked to comment on Batman v Superman director’s recent comments, Feige played it cool and did not repond in a way that would start a heated debate.

“Those are all very different movies. They all happen to be based on Marvel characters and Marvel comics, but from a genre and a cinematic perspective, they’re all very unique. Civil War may as well be a different genre from Age Of Ultron. The way Winter Soldier was a political thriller, I think there is a more emotional and more geopolitical and real world through line through Civil War than there was in the broader Age Of Ultron with the killer AI Tony Stark invention. I think it’s the same thing as saying, ‘I don’t know how many more movies can be made from novels. I think people are going to bored with novels being turned into movies. I don’t know how long it’s going to last.'”

Do you think that we will have another 42 years of superhero movies? Let us know in the comments below.